Category: Coin/Crypto

Stablecoin Friendly Policies Can Help Make 2022 A Breakout Year For The Sector

Stablecoins increasingly are the form of cryptoassets most commonly used for transactional purposes, and as 2022 gets underway the importance of these cryptoassets will only increase.

From a business and marketplace point of view the upsides and opportunities linked to stablecoins are clear, and have been reinforced over the last several years. As should be self-evident by the moniker, the primary benefit of stablecoins is the reduced price volatility that often characterizes other cryptoassets.

A simple statement of fact, but one whose importance cannot be overstated. In order to achieve mainstream adoption and utilization as a medium of exchange rather than simply a speculative investment, users and consumers must have confidence in the value of whatever is being utilized for this purpose.

The appetite and interest in stablecoins has been demonstrated by the billions in transactions taking place using these assets, the regulatory focus highlighted by the President’s Working Group report on the matter, and the fact that several major payment processers now allow customers to send and receive payments denominated in stablecoins.

In other words, the functionality of these tools and market interest has been proven and established; the technology works and fills a need. Policy, or lack thereof, still remains a looming threat to broader adoption and utilization, and is an area that will need to be addressed as the sector continues to mature.

Obviously the conversations linked to cryptoasset regulation is beyond the scope of any singular article. Rather, the factors listed below are explicitly connected to stablecoins, and how commonsense policies can not only help accelerate adoption of stablecoins, and also create a regulatory environment that allows for further maturation and development of the space.

Let’s take a look at a few policy items that could – and hopefully will – accelerate the already rapid adoption of stablecoins.

Differentiate stablecoins. This point cannot be overstated; in order to further develop and expand the opportunities for stablecoin utilization, there needs to be a differentiation between stablecoins and other cryptoassets. While it is true that the cryptoasset space at large has become much busier during the last year or so – non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance (DeFi), and the rise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) – the importance of this singular difference is paramount.

Even now as regulators seek to implement policies to monetize and capture the benefits connected to cryptoassets, stablecoins are routinely lumped in with more volatility counterparts. This not only misses the bigger point regarding the value case of stablecoins, but muddies the water around how to best integrate cryptoassets into financial markets.

Monetary competition is good. Recent comments and conversations have focused on, notably around the different CityCoin projects that have launched during the last several months, is that developing this array of options might not be the best use of resources. The thinking goes, why not instead invest these resources in developing other technologies or addressing other economic or societal issues versus introducing yet another cryptoasset? This line of thinking, as appealing as it might appear upon first review, misses the broader point.

Every economic sector, be it connected to technology or not, is improved by the introduction of competitive options for consumers, investors, and users alike. Many of the same proponents of more standardized and centralized cryptoasset options, namely CBDCs, should be encouraging new and innovative stablecoin options. Lessons learned in the private sector can – and have – been integrated into the development of newer and more mainstream cryptoasset options.

Competition is a good thing, and the best components of different tools will be integrated into whatever options do eventually achieve mainstream status.

Simpler reporting requirements. The tax, compliance, and reporting obligations that accompany cryptoassets are a burden that have been discussed in multiple outlets, and the issues that exist are nothing new. Building on the first point mentioned above, this is also an opportunity for policymakers to demonstrate that more sophisticated public commentary is also working its way into more nuanced regulation and rule-making. One of the best ways to communicate that policy is evolving alongside the sector would be to ease the compliance burden on the issuers and users of stablecoins.

Clearly there is always a role for well-informed and thought out regulation and rules, but the current reporting obligations seem more appropriate for cryptoassets with higher volatility than stablecoins. This subset of cryptoassets were developed, and have been explicitly designed, to function as a medium of exchange; how can this happen if potential tax obligations need to be recorded and reported for every transaction?

Understandably, government authorities wish to collect taxes when appropriate; that is not the problem in this context. The issue is when the rules that have been implemented seem to specifically and artificially undermine the primary use case of the instrument (stablecoins) in question.

Stablecoins have quickly rocketed from an interesting cryptoasset that might have struck some market participants as a boring alternative to bitcoin to an integral link in the adoption journey for many individuals and organizations. Despite this rapid growth and acceptance, however, work remains in order to fully realize the potential of these cryptoassets for transactional purposes.

As the calendar rolls forward into 2022, this is the perfect time to revisit, revise, and improve rules and policies around stablecoins. Serving a bridge and on-ramp for market actors at varying levels of expertise, stablecoins have a critical role to play; effective policy can go a long way to making this a reality.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out some of my other work here.

Sean Stein Smith

Sean Stein Smith

Source: Stablecoin Friendly Policies Can Help Make 2022 A Breakout Year For The Sector

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Crypto Staking Firm Figment Becomes Unicorn With Fresh $110 Million Fundraise

Canadian blockchain infrastructure and services provider Figment raised $110 million in Series C funding at a $1.4 billion valuation. The announcement closely follows the firm’s $50 million Series B, closed in August, which valued the company at $500 million. 

Revealed exclusively to Forbes, the current round was led by software investment firm Thoma Bravo, with participation from Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Binance Labs, ParaFi Capital, Avon Ventures, a venture capital fund affiliated with FMR LLC (the parent company of Fidelity Investments), CMS Holdings, Franklin Templeton, 2TM (the parent company of Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin), and StarkWare, among others. The investment brings Figment’s total capital raised to date to approximately $165 million.

Launched in 2018, the Toronto-based firm supports the Web 3.0 ecosystem by making it easy for investors to stake their tokens, earn yield and participate in blockchain governance across more than 50 networks, including Ethereum (still on track to full PoS transition), Cardano, Solana and Polkadot. 

Competing with other staking-focused platforms like Blockdaemon, Everstake, Chorus One and staking services offered by crypto exchanges including Binance, Coinbase and Kraken, Figment says that it has staked over $7.5 billion in assets while expanding its institutional client base from 31 to more than 130 this year. Among Figment’s largest customers are Coinbase, Crypto.com, Anchorage, The Graph and Ether Capital.

“Figment’s rapid growth over the past few years combined with its institutional focus from both a technological and service perspective sets Figment apart as a highly strategic player poised for significant scale,” said Tre Sayle, partner at Thoma Bravo (lead investor in the round), in e-mailed comments. 

While “increasing hiring and headcount is the number one priority” for the fast growing firm, said Figment’s cofounder and CEO, Lorien Gabel, the new capital should also help it to become much more involved in the overall development of Web 3.0, which will in turn increase demand for staking.

Figment plans to develop its DataHub 2.0 platform, designed to remove the complexities of building on Web 3 blockchains. The funds “will also go toward supporting and expanding our 50+ protocols network, as well as Figment’s investment arm, which is focused on fostering the development of new decentralized protocols and applications,” Gabel added.

The startup’s own $17.5 million investment fund, Figment Capital, launched in April and has since invested in teams and networks with a focus on proof-of-stake consensus models, interoperability, and privacy. Investments include Osmosis, decentralized exchange based on the Cosmos network, crypto staking protocol Obol and Ethereum scaling and privacy engine zkSync, among others. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. 

Nina Bambysheva

Nina Bambysheva

I report on cryptocurrencies and other applications of blockchain technology. I also write the weekly Forbes Crypto Confidential newsletter and contribute to our premium research service…

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More Contents:

The Review of Financial Studies. 34 (3): 1156–1190. doi:10.1093/rfs/hhaa075. ISSN0893-9454. Tasca, Paolo; Tessone, Claudio J. (2019-02-15).

“A Taxonomy of Blockchain Technologies: Principles of Identification and Classification”. Ledger. 4. doi:10.5195/ledger.2019.140. ISSN2379-5980. Zhang, Rong; Chan, Wai Kin (Victor) (2020). “

Evaluation of Energy Consumption in Block-Chains with Proof of Work and Proof of Stake”.

Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 1584 (1): 012023. Bibcode:2020JPhCS1584a2023Z. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1584/1/012023. ISSN1742-6596. Xiao, Y.; Zhang, N.; Lou, W.; Hou, Y. T. (2020). “A Survey of Distributed Consensus Protocols for Blockchain Networks”.

IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials. 22 (2): 1432–1465. arXiv:1904.04098. doi:10.1109/COMST.2020.2969706. ISSN1553-877X. S2CID102352657. Li, Wenting; Andreina, Sébastien; Bohli, Jens-Matthias; Karame, Ghassan (2017). “Securing Proof-of-Stake Blockchain Protocols”. In Garcia-Alfaro, Joaquin; Navarro-Arribas, Guillermo; Hartenstein, Hannes; Herrera-Joancomartí, Jordi (eds.). Data Privacy Management, Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology.

Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 297–315. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-67816-0_17. ISBN978-3-319-67816-0. Gecgil, Tezcan. “

7 Cryptos to Buy for Their Potentially Profitable Partnerships”. http://www.nasdaq.com. Retrieved 2021-07-23. Ashworth, Will (July 13, 2021). “

Solana vs. Cardano: Which Is the Better Ethereum Killer?”. Investor Place. Hissong, Samantha (July 9, 2021). “

The Crypto World Is Getting Greener. Is It Too Little Too Late?”. Rolling Stone. Nguyen, Cong T.; Hoang, Dinh Thai; Nguyen, Diep N.; Niyato, Dusit; Nguyen, Huynh Tuong; Dutkiewicz, Eryk (2019). “

Proof-of-Stake Consensus Mechanisms for Future Blockchain Networks: Fundamentals, Applications and Opportunities”. IEEE Access. 7: 85727–85745. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2925010. Sparkes, Matthew (2021-03-30). “

NFT developers say cryptocurrencies must tackle their carbon emissions”. New Scientist. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(21)00548-0. Retrieved 2021-04-07. Lau, Yvonne (2021-05-27). “

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin says long-awaited shift to ‘proof-of-stake’ could solve environmental woes”. Forbes. Retrieved 2021-05-29. Wickens, Katie (25 October 2021). “‘

The Merge’ to end cryptocurrency mining on gaming GPUs won’t come until 2022″. PC Gamer. Retrieved 13 December 2021.

Curious About Crypto? Here’s What 10 Financial Experts Think

A photo to accompany a story about financial experts' advice for investing in cryptocurrency

Everyday investors are overflowing with cryptocurrency questions, according to the financial advisors hired to answer them.

There is clearly an “emotional euphoria that seems to be sweeping through the public around cryptocurrency,” says Frederick Stanfield, a CFP with Lifewater Wealth Management in Atlanta, Georgia.

But for the average person focused on retirement planning and financial stability, is it time to consider investing in cryptocurrency?

The answer is complicated, so we asked financial advisors for their crypto advice, and here’s what 10 of them are telling clients. In an emerging field with few set rules and norms, we discovered some universal truths that everyone should know before putting money in cryptocurrency.

First of all, financial advisors say a healthy dose of skepticism is a crucial place to start, and you should never invest in crypto if it takes away from other goals and financial fundamentals like paying off debt, building an emergency fund, or maxing out your retirement accounts.

As difficult as it may be, do not become seduced by the intrigue and allure of this new technology, says Stanfield. Instead, employ the same mindset you bring to your regular investment strategy.

Here’s what else the experts want you to know about cryptocurrency investing:

Be Prepared for Loss

As with any investment, financial gains are far from guaranteed with cryptocurrency investing. For some financial advisors, crypto looks more like a lottery ticket than an investment strategy.

That means you should only put in what you’re OK with losing. “On a spectrum between gambling and investing, I think it’s closer to the former,” says Matt Morris, principal advisor at Sanderling Finance in Columbia, South Carolina.

As a high-risk, high-reward investment, keep any crypto investments in perspective amid your broader goals and finances. As with certain types of gambling, “you have a high chance of losing it all, but a small chance of winning it big,” says Nate Nieri, a CFP with Modern Money Management in San Diego, California. “Just don’t gamble an amount that would burden your family or prevent you from achieving your goals” if you lost it all.

Steer Clear if You’re Risk Averse

If you’re risk averse, crypto isn’t the investment for you.“How well can you sleep at night knowing that this is an emerging asset class with high volatility? And if you were to wake one morning to find that crypto has been banned by the developed nations and it became worthless, would you be OK?” asks Stanield.

If you’re going to be constantly stressing about your crypto investment, or tempted to change your investments in light of the volatility that comes with crypto, then you’re better off putting your money in a more stable investment, according to Stanfield.

“I believe it is still in its infancy stage, and just like any new fund or IPO, there is a level of uncertainty about the future that I’m not ready to stomach,” says Alajahwon Ridgeway, owner of Ridgeway Wealth Management in Lafayette, Louisiana. “I believe it … is an unnecessary risk at this point for my clients to reach their financial goals.”

There’s also far less historical data available about cryptocurrency to help investors make informed decisions — unlike conventional ETF and index/mutual funds. Crypto investors face additional risk in the form of poor or inaccurate trade data, competition among fellow investors, theft, loss of wallet passwords, supply and demand issues, government regulation, and energy consumption concerns, says Chelsea Rude, a CFP at Rude Wealth Advisory in Olney, Illinois.

“Most importantly for investors, there is a lack of a well designed and tested way to value the assets,” Rude says. This means crypto investors are essentially going in blind, and subjecting themselves to the uncertainty that comes with any new business or investment

Know Why You’re Interested In the First Place

Some people see crypto as an emerging investment, while others see it as an interesting new global currency you can use instead of the U.S. dollar or other international currencies. But whether crypto has long-term staying power on either front is still uncertain.

“I strongly believe the vast majority of people who own crypto currency are doing so for all the wrong reasons and misunderstanding what they are truly buying,” says Ben Lies, chief investment officer at Delphi Advisers.

Many experts are concerned about people dumping their money into crypto without real understanding of the area. Do your own research, and make sure you’re thinking about your investment in the right way.

“Hype and excitement around the space are not reasons for inclusion into any portfolio, but I believe there are compelling reasons to consider cryptocurrencies,” says James Vermillion, owner of Vermillion Private Wealth in Lexington, Kentucky. “When discussing crypto with clients I emphasize education and understanding. It’s important to note that there are thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence and they are not created equally. Due diligence is important, just as it is when looking at stocks or other investment vehicles.”

Nieri warns those who see Bitcoin as a currency to think about what that means for investing. “I don’t typically trade or have a currency hedge as part of my investment strategy. Would you have ever thought about trading dollars for Euros as an investment? In order for Bitcoin to be a legitimate currency, the world’s governments would need to accept it as a global currency, something that has a remote likelihood,” Nieri says.

Keep Crypto In Its Place

Don’t rely on crypto investments for your retirement or overall financial strategy. Make sure the majority of your investment portfolio is made up of stable assets projected for long-term growth.

“What I am sharing for [my clients] to do is build their future financial pie with investments such as stocks and bonds. If there is extra money they want to play with, buying crypto is an option,” says Eric Powell, financial advisor and founder of the Future Mill.

Make sure your overall investment portfolio is predominantly made up of conventional investments like stocks and bonds, says Powell. But within any crypto investments you might have, experts recommend sticking with the big names.

“I personally do not go beyond Bitcoin and or Ethereum,” says Michael Kelly, a CFA at Switchback Financial in Madison, Connecticut.  “I feel those two have a bit more of an established base and feel the risk of other coins becomes too significant.”

By: Ryan Haar

 

Source: Curious About Crypto? Here’s What 10 Financial Experts Think | NextAdvisor with TIME

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Decentralized finance (commonly referred to as DeFi) is a blockchain-based form of finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks to offer traditional financial instruments, and instead utilizes smart contracts on blockchains, the most common being Ethereum.[1] DeFi platforms allow people to lend or borrow funds from others, speculate on price movements on a range of assets using derivatives, trade cryptocurrencies, insure against risks, and earn interest in savings-like accounts.[2]

DeFi uses a layered architecture and highly composable building blocks.[3] Some DeFi applications promote high interest rates[2] but are subject to high risk.[1] By October 2020, over $11 billion (worth in cryptocurrency) was deposited in various decentralized finance protocols, which represented more than a tenfold growth during the course of 2020.[4][2] As of January 2021, approximately $20.5 billion was invested in DeFi.[5]

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References

Braun, Alexander; Cohen, Lauren H.; Xu, Jiahua (May 2020). “fidentiaX: The Tradable Insurance Marketplace on Blockchain”. Harvard Business School. Retrieved 2021-01-05.

BlockFi Mistakenly Deposits Outsized Bitcoin Payments

In this photo illustration the cryptocurrency exchange...

BlockFi, the crypto lending and trading business, mistakenly deposited large amounts of crypto to user accounts. The payments were associated with a promotion they were running, in which users would receive bonuses in USD stablecoins.

The promotion was intended to be “paid out in one lump sum in GUSD” according to their website. Instead, some accounts were paid the amount denominated in Bitcoin, with some receiving over 700 BTC (worth >$28,000,000 at current prices).

A screenshot from one affected user who withdrew the funds shows threat of possible legal action should they not be returned, and a pay-out of $500 should they return them by a set time.

BlockFi clearly has their hands full dealing with the mistakenly deposited bonus payments, and users have reported experiencing additional issues with the company’s services. The BlockFi subreddit is full of posts with individuals receiving the mistaken funds, having difficulty withdrawing, and being unable to trade. One user claims to have been falsely accused of withdrawing mistaken funds after withdrawing USDC which he or she had been deposited a month earlier.

A statement by BlockFi, noted that “fewer than 100 clients were incorrectly credited,” and “BlockFi has contacted these clients and is working with them to rectify the issue.”

There are risks with using centralized services like lending platforms and exchanges—these are especially well known by early Bitcoiner’s who have witnesses a great number of hacks, exit-scams, and insolvencies wipe out customer funds held by large custodians.

BlockFi claims that “client funds are not impacted and are safeguarded.” After raising a recent $350 million funding round, the company likely has large pools of capital to pull from should they be unable to recoup any of the mis-credited funds from users who withdrew to personal wallets.

BlockFi’s previous promotion was, indeed, a friend referral promotion which offered (albeit small) BTC rewards.

Nicholas Gans

Nicholas Gans

I am the Director of Research and Development at Inca Digital, a data and intelligence provider in the digital asset space. I use Inca’s proprietary data system, NTerminal, to aggregate and analyze structured and unstructured data.

Before Inca, I helped start up a pharmacogenetics laboratory and worked in neurodegenerative research. My scientific background influences the way that I think about complex systems such as blockchain networks, and the models used to understand them.

Source: BlockFi Mistakenly Deposits Outsized Bitcoin Payments

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Reversing the excess bitcoin rewards

One user who reached out to CoinDesk said they received a large sum of BTC in their account which they thought was a reward for referring their friends – so they sent it to their cold storage wallet. BlockFi’s previous promotion was, indeed, a friend referral promotion which offered (albeit small) BTC rewards.

The user said after looking at the transaction in more detail, they realized it was an error, so they requested a cancellation of the withdrawal. The cancelation request was confirmed via email and their account shows the BTC transaction was reversed, with a note specifying they had reversed the bonus transaction. Nevertheless, the user said the bitcoin reward ended up in their cold storage wallet. They shared these documents with CoinDesk, and the blockchain shows that the funds were indeed transferred to their wallet address.

The next day, they received a phone call and an email (which CoinDesk has reviewed) from BlockFi threatening legal action if they didn’t return the funds, but also offering $1,000 worth of the stablecoin GUSD for any trouble this may have caused.

Other users on Reddit posted images of BlockFi’s “generous” giveaway, with one deposit amounting to over 700 BTC. That transaction, according to the user, was reversed. Another said their friend received 5 BTC and was, in fact, able to move it off the platform.

Yet another user said they received both BTC and GUSD, only to have the BTC reversed. The GUSD remained, but a couple of days later when they tried to withdraw some USDC (+0.09%), a different stablecoin they had deposited a month earlier, BlockFi sent an email accusing them of withdrawing funds that weren’t theirs.

Genesis Mining Technologies Currently Butte Energy Announces Go-Public Transaction For Entire Cryptocurrency Mining IP Asset Portfolio and Growth Pipeline of Global Leader

Highlights:

  • Entire portfolio of Genesis Mining Group’s cryptocurrency-related intellectual property to be taken public, together with more than 200MW pipeline of contracted, green-powered cryptocurrency data centre construction and expansion projects in Europe and North America
  • Resulting issuer will bring to market turnkey financing and technology solutions for cryptocurrency data centre operators around the world, leveraging Genesis Mining Group’s pioneering proprietary software platforms Hexa, Janus, and Block Explorer, and supply-chain relationships built over nearly a decade in the industry
  • Genesis Mining Group Founder and CEO, Marco Streng, to be appointed as Chairman
  • C$20 million private placement financing

VANCOUVER, BC and BIRKIRKARA, Malta, Feb. 12, 2021 /CNW/ – Butte Energy Inc. (TSXV: BEN.H) (the “Company” or “Genesis Mining Technologies“) (being renamed Genesis Mining Technologies Corp.) has entered into an arms-length, legally binding letter of intent dated February 12, 2021 with Genesis Group Limited (“Genesis Mining Group“) to acquire (the “Transaction“):

    1. all of Genesis Mining Group’s intellectual property relating to cryptocurrency mining operations, including its proprietary (i) datacentre construction, layout, and cooling system known as “AC/DC”; (ii) datacentre monitoring and optimization software platform known as “Hexa”; (iii) blockchain data analysis tool known as “Block Explorer”; and (iv) cryptocurrency market forecasting software platform known as “Janus”; and
    2. all rights to Genesis Mining Group’s more than 200MW pipeline of contracted cryptocurrency mining data centre construction and expansion projects in Europe and North America.

The Company

Leveraging its pioneering, proprietary software platforms and supply-chain relationships built over nearly a decade in the industry, Genesis Mining Technologies intends to bring flexible, turnkey financing and technology solutions to cryptocurrency data centre operators around the world. Genesis Mining has serviced over 2,000,000 customers since its founding in 2013 and has established a broad network of partner data centre operators globally.

“This go-public transaction marks a pivotal next step in Genesis Mining Group’s history and will be a gamechanger for the cryptocurrency mining industry,” commented Marco Streng, Founder and CEO of Genesis Mining Group and incoming Chairman of the Company. “We believe that cryptocurrencies will be at the centre of the future of global commerce.

However, the integrity of this system requires computing infrastructure that is decentralized, optimally architected, and powered sustainably with green energy. With Genesis Mining Technologies’ turnkey solutions, existing operators and new entrants with access to cheap, green power can obtain the financing, procurement, and operational ingredients to compete with the world’s leading miners, in one stop.”

The Company will constitute Genesis Mining Group’s core business going forward, with all future mining operations and financing transactions to be structured such that economics will accrue to the Company solely, with Genesis Mining Group’s exposure being through its shareholdings in the Company.

Concurrent with closing of the Transaction (“Closing“), Genesis Mining Group (or its affiliates and principals) will be issued such number of shares of the Company as will constitute approximately 80% of the issued and outstanding common shares following completion of the equity financing and consolidation (described below). Closing is subject to receipt of TSXV approval, completion of definitive documentation, any requisite shareholder approvals, and completion of the consolidation and equity financing.

The Business Model and Pipeline

With the global market capitalization of cryptocurrencies recently topping US$1 trillion1, and Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) hitting all-time-highs, Genesis Mining Technologies intends to provide investors with de-risked exposure to a diversified portfolio of cryptocurrency mining assets and financing and technology licensing structures with third party partners. The Company will provide investors with direct exposure to cryptocurrency price performance, focusing its business model on driving free cashflow.

The Company’s current pipeline consists of five anticipated deals in Europe and North America, with a more than 200MW supply of cheap, green power already under contract. The Company will use these internally generated opportunities to develop and pilot its financing and technology solutions. These initial projects may take a variety of ownership and financing forms, but the Company intends to focus its efforts on rolling out its solutions at scale by partnering with other established miners and new entrants to the market.

The Company’s solutions will be focused on operators of green powered cryptocurrency infrastructure projects around the world to provide (i) flexible financing solutions for new buildouts and expansions, (ii) procurement of the right mining hardware for the project, benefitting from Genesis Mining Group’s know-how and supply chain relationships built over years of being one of the top miners globally, and (iii) optimization of operations through access to the Company’s technologies, including its AC/DC, Hexa, Block Explorer, and cryptocurrency market forecasting platform.

Management and Board

The Company will appoint an experienced management team and board of directors on Closing consisting of principals from the Company and Genesis Mining Group, including incoming Chairman Marco Streng.

Marco Streng is a crypto mining industry pioneer and Founder and CEO of Genesis Mining Group. In 2013, he co-founded and launched Genesis Mining, bootstrapping the organization into becoming one of the largest crypto mining companies in the world serving over 2,000,000 customers.

Tillmann Korb will be appointed as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Korb holds a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He studied at the Technical University of Munich and École Central Paris. His professional career started in strategy and management consulting, with a focus on the German automotive industry. He has been a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast since the early days. Motivated by the urge to turn his private enthusiasm into a professional career, he started his engagement for Genesis Mining Group as Regional Manager for North America, developing cryptocurrency data centers and business relations. He was key in pivoting Genesis Mining Group’s business model to providing mining technologies and financial resources to its established partner network.

Consolidation and Financing

On or before Closing, a consolidation of the Company’s issued and outstanding share capital on the basis of one new common share for every four outstanding common shares will be completed. No fractional shares will be issued under the consolidation and any fraction will be rounded to the nearest whole number.

In connection with the Transaction, the Company will complete a private placement financing of subscription receipts (“Subscription Receipts“) at a price of C$1.00 per Subscription Receipt for aggregate proceeds of C$20,000,000, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “Exchange“). Each Subscription Receipt will convert into one post-consolidation common share of the Company immediately prior to the completion of the Transaction. Proceeds from the financing will be used to commence initial deployments of capital into Genesis Mining Technologies’ existing pipeline and for general working capital.

Trading in the common shares of the Company has been halted in accordance with the policies of the Exchange and will remain halted until such time as all required documentation has been filed with and accepted by the Exchange and permission to resume trading has been obtained from the Exchange. Since the common shares of the Company are listed on the NEX market of the Exchange, and the Transaction does not constitute a Related Party Transaction under the policies of the Exchange, the Company is not required to seek shareholder approval for the Transaction.

For corporate updates, please register to our mailing list at genesis.tech.

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable, disinterested shareholder approval. Where applicable, the transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.

The Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

ON BEHALF OF Butte Energy Inc.
(to be renamed GENESIS MINING TECHNOLOGIES CORP.)

“Geir Liland”

CEO and Director

For further information: Geir Liland, Tel: (604) 609-6110

Source: Genesis Mining Technologies (currently Butte Energy) Announces Go-Public Transaction for Entire Cryptocurrency Mining IP Asset Portfolio and Growth Pipeline of Global Leader, Genesis Mining Group

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